Arkansas agrees to seven-year extension with Richardson

Richardson, who led the Razorbacks to the 1994 NCAA championship, a second-place finish and another Final Four appearance, has a 356-144 record in 15 seasons at Arkansas.

Last year, Richardson won his first Southeastern Conference tournament title and took the team to its 14th consecutive post-season berth.

As the 1999-00 season wound down, Richardson and athletic director Frank Broyles met amid talk that there was a rift between the two.

Richardson had said in January that his title of assistant athletic director was meaningless, saying he didn't want to be counted as ''a number for affirmative action.'' Broyles did not address Richardson's comments, but said college athletics have to do a better job of hiring blacks for upper management.

At the time of the alleged rift, Richardson's contract was still being negotiated, and he was trying to obtain raises for assistant coaches.